The Importance of Resource Graph

posted Jun 16, 2018, 8:12 AM by jeffery jim

1. Resource Graph is one of the most important indicators for your planning or project. It highlights the availability of your resources and to ensure that your resources (manpower and machinery) do not go overboard or over allocated.

2. The over allocated indicator is one way to show possible occurance for overtime or the need to add additional resources. This mean that your existing allocated resource may not be sufficient. This is essential in the earlier stage of your planning in order to weigh if your planning is realistic/pragmatic or unrealistic.

3. It is pragmatic to level your resources by either increasing the duration (which may lapse contract duration) of the task or to shift (by changing relationship and predecessor) and execute task which requires similar resource(s) when there are available floats or total float as long as the task will not lead to possible duress in progress or within the critical path. In short, tweak activities with shared resources until one of the activities have allowance for a split. This may need some experience. The crux to such action is to allow you to have flexibility without the need to conduct automated or manual resource leveling.

4. Another reason for you to review this graph is to ensure the planned work program can be achieved with existing resources within the essence of time agreed in the contract or you may need to consult your superior to request for additional resources in order to achieved the planned work program and scheduled duration.

5. Resource is one of the main components in construction which is closely related to cost. Increasing resources may deem to be efficient periodically but it may not be the best tactical financial move for the whole project especially when some of your resources are idling at certain stage/phase of the project. Your organization incurred additional cost without productivity and therefore this will reduce (or not optimizing) profit. Additional cost can be translated as additional charges for credit facility interest.

This also ties down to your organization's recruitment process and availability of resources within the vicinity of the project . You cannot recruit workers and lay them off in between months or weeks especially with activities which require high level of skill or specialty.

6. Apart from leveling resources within a project, resources can be leveled among projects. This practice of resource sharing is much tedious, meticulous and requires great length or coordination to orchestrate compare to leveling resources within a project. Secondly, this may be limited for certain software and it may get complicated when the calendar is different; considering in our country we have a week starting on Monday and on Sunday for certain state.

7. I hope this will give you a good and basic insight about resources in project planning.